Yes the link was very helpful. It's good that I am very intelligent and can understand these things. Thank you
I hate to say it, but now I think maybe I like my amp in ultralinear mode versus triode
It's a Cary V-12; it features a dozen EL34s and each pair has a switch in between them that configures that pair to either triode or ultralinear. In full triode Cary listed in the specs that it makes 50 wpc and in full ultralinear 100 wpc. For most of the twenty three years that I have owned this amp I have always felt that I preferred triode except for the occasions that I wanted to full out blast (it has literally been many years since I've felt the need to full out blast).
However, today I experimented with a couple of things in my system, and after listening to the same "Jazz Essentials" (compilation) red book CD a couple of times all the way through, the next thing I experimented with was switching to full ultralinear.
Maybe there was more "PRaT"? (Which is a term I am still not sure that I completely grasp.) Maybe . . . but what I do feel I noted for sure was that the imaging (particularly the imaging in the center) had more weight (meatier?) and was presented more forward, which I actually like.
I put a few more hours in (one more time with Jazz Essentials, Holly Cole/It Happened One Night, Dave's True Story/Sex Without Bodies, selected tracks from Rebecca Pigeon/The Raven and Once Blue/self titled and Norah Jones/Feels Like Home) after switching to ultralinear. (No booze during this session, just coffee.) The jury is still out on this, but I do have some CDs in mind that I want to listen to over the next few days as I continue to evaluate.
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Yes, that is good. I am happy for you. But do not thank me; thank @atmasphere , as he posted the link a few posts before you said you would like to see a diagram. |
Regardless of what we each think of the term "UltraLinear", and its alignment on the good-versus-evil spectrum, I found the following diagram most succinct and easy to digest. It’s from a web search that hits el34world dot com. I assume the exact % of the UL taps’ positioning between outer taps and center tap is what’s at issue for "optimal" UL loading to a given output tube type - as circuit gurus like Ralph have pointed out. In pentode mode, both tube screens are tied to the center tap. In triode mode, each screen is tied to its own tube's anode plate. |
Thank you, @mulveling ! I have printed that as well. You asked for a diagram, @emergingsoul , it appears as if your wish has been granted a couple of times over. |
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